BELMONT -- This time there would be no miraculous comeback for the Soquel High girls basketball team.

Two games removed from the Knights' spectacular rally to win the Santa Cruz Coast Athletic League Tournament championship over Scotts Valley, Soquel couldn't do the same against Sacred Heart Prep in the Central Coast Section Division IV semifinals at Notre Dame High. Instead, the No. 5 seeded Gators handed the No. 1 Knights, the defending D-IV champions, a 55-52 loss that also broke their stretch of 15 straight wins dating back to early January.

"It kind of felt the same," senior Tyler Stewart said of the league championship and the CCS semifinal. "But sometimes you win and sometimes you lose. Our win streak couldn't last forever. We knew that. It's just too bad it couldn't last one more game."

SHP will advance to Friday's finals, where it will take on West Catholic Athletic League foe Menlo, a 58-46 winner over Scotts Valley. Site and time are to be announced.

Soquel's semifinal again came down to a deep 3-point attempt by senior Tyler Stewart in the waning seconds. But after seeing Stewart hit a 3 from near NBA distance -- in nearly the same spot as she nailed a shot that sent the Knights (25-3) into overtime two weeks ago -- the Gators (21-8) clamped down tight on the guard and the shot went astray.

"They weren't going to let me shoot," Stewart said.

And just like in the SCCAL championship, the Knights fell into an early hole by committing too many turnovers. Soquel turned the ball over to the Gators' press on its first three straight possessions, falling behind 4-0. SHP kept the pressure on the Knights with sharp shooting and by going through the back door, ratcheting the lead up to 16-6 with two minutes still to go in the first quarter.

By halftime, the Gators were leading 35-25.

But senior Keahna Clark stepped up with a long jumper to get the Knights off on the right foot in the second half. With 1:43 left in the third, they'd whittled SHP's lead down to one point, 38-37, on a potential 3-point play. The Knights failed to make the free throw, however, and Jessica Koenig launched a 3-pointer at the other end to give the Gators more padding.

Soquel again reeled SHP in the fourth half after allowing the Gators to stretch their lead to nine points. But senior Maddie Rocha converted a 3-point play and Stewart added her deep 3 to close the gap to three points with 1:12 left.

SHP coach Ann Tafolla complimented Soquel's artillery and said she never felt comfortable with her team's lead.

"We changed our defense, we changed a lot of things in that action," Tafolla said. "We had to adjust some so we could manage all of them."

Rocha led Soquel with 19 points, while sophomore Natalie Diaz added 12 with 13 rebounds and five assists. Stewart finished with nine points and six rebounds and Zulieca Rodriguez added 11 rebounds.

Helen Gannon led SHP with 14 points and Meghan Holland added 12.

The loss ends the high schools careers of Rocha, Stewart, Rodriguez and Clark. But the girls left the locker room with their heads held high, having won the SCCAL title outright.

"I think we're disappointed that we didn't get to go on," Stewart said. "But everyone on this team loves each other. We'll keep seeing each other at school. Our friendship isn't over, just our basketball season."